Letters: Every vote matters this November; Stop Project 2025 and its enablers
Every vote matters this November
People who are considering voting for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election by diverting votes from Hilary Clinton, should seriously consider how their vote might affect the 2024 election. Either Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected. Even after the recent hot summers, forest fires, and increases in storms, if reelected, Trump will make no effort to fight climate change. Eight years ago, in Pennsylvania, Stein got 49,941 votes, only a small fraction of the electorate. But if Stein had not been on the ballot, Clinton likely would have gotten many of those votes. Remember that this year in Pennsylvania, the election may be decided by a few thousand votes. Make your vote count this time to help keep Trump out of the Oval Office.
Roy Greenfield, State College
Stop Project 2025 and its enablers
The Department of Education’s mission is “to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” The Trump-Vance adjacent Project 2025 section on Education would break up the Education Department and destroy its mission.
Its proposals will make it harder for low-income students, middle-income students, and students from marginalized groups to obtain education from kindergarten to post-secondary education.
These policies include cuts to the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunches, the gradual elimination of Title I funds, which are used by most school districts on the highest poverty schools. Project 2025 eliminates student loan forgiveness programs and recommends privatizing the student loan program. Project 2025 also eliminates Head Start, a preschool program that has helped many in rural areas. These policies would hurt many residents of Glenn Thompson’s congressional district, which contains some of the poorest and most food insecure counties in Pennsylvania.
Project 2025 would abolish incentives to use restorative justice practices in disciplining students; it rejects educating teachers and staff about race and gender; it rolls back Title IX regulations including elimination of protections for trans and non-binary students. Such policies make some of the most vulnerable students in our schools more vulnerable.
To stop Project 2025, we must stop its enablers, Trump, Vance, Connecticut’s own Dave McCormick, and Congressman Glenn Thompson. We must make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz our next President and Vice President, reelect Senator Robert Casey, Jr, and send Zach Womer to Congress.
Jesse L. Barlow, State College
Grateful for Military Appreciation game
As a 25 year veteran of the USAF-Air National Guard, I wanted to thank Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, athletic director Pat Kraft, Penn State football coach James Franklin and the players for allowing myself to attend the Military Appreciation game this year.
Thank you for honoring all veterans and to the fans who donated the tickets to the veterans.
Thanks to Joe Paterno for all he did for the university for over 60 years. We are Penn State.
Joseph Rozman, Bloomingdale, Ohio
